I have two winners today and will have two more soon. There are such wonderful new books coming out! Both books were provided by the publisher but the opinions are my own.
Maine Characters by Hannah Orenstein
4 Stars
After her father’s death, Vivian returns to the small town in Maine where she spent one month each summer with him at his lake house. Surprised to find a car in the driveway, she is stunned to meet Lucy, her half-sister. Though Lucy suspected her father might be hiding something from her, the enormity of a second family crushes her. She’s come to scatter her father’s ashes and instead discovers that she knew little of the man who was so often gone on long business trips. Lucy has arrived to spend July at the lake house. It has always been her month with her father. The sisters couldn’t be more different. Vivian is a sommelier at a prestigious New York restaurant. Lucy teaches high school English. Amid tears and recriminations, they spend the first night together at the lake house wondering how to go forward.
Untangling relationships and memories, the lake house becomes an incubator forming new bonds and a clarity to see the future. The long, languid summer burned by sparks and drowned in tears, witnesses a poignant story of the frailty and imperfection of the humans we love. The cast of secondary characters adds authenticity and depth.
Lena the Chicken (But Really a Dinosaur!) by Linda Bailey 5 Stars
Lena, a brave and bold hen who believes she is a dinosaur, protects the other chickens and their eggs. Her human family (who have been the recipients of numerous pecks) doesn’t understand her. Only their daughter, Madeline, admires and loves her. A weasel attacks while the family is away. Gnawing a hole in the side of the coop, he squeezes his whiskery snout through to further terrorize the chickens. Lena ignores her quivering sisters and springs into action. She explodes with a primeval screech that brings down the side of the coop on the weasel’s nose! Extricating himself, the weasel breaks off his beautiful whiskers and slinks off to hide in his den, embarrassed to show himself.
Madeline researches chickens for her Science Fair project and discovers that chickens really are the direct descendants of dinosaurs. Of course, Lena attends the Fair, too, making Madeline’s booth a hit with everyone!
This colorful book includes multiple speech bubbles with comments from Madeline’s family, the weasel, and the chickens. The intrepid Lena is brave, beautiful, and lovable! Pair it with a fat hen puppet for extra Storytime fun. A page tracing chickens’ lineage is included at the back along with books for further reading.
fairysockmother 